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Pink Freud wrote: ↑02 May 2025 21:57 pm Something today drew me to the familiar old story of dwarf Eddie Gaedel coming to bat for the St. Louis Browns, wearing the uniform of off-duty batboy Bill DeWitt Jr., with the number 1/8. Of course, with virtually no strike zone, Gaedel walked...and the next day was banned from baseball for reasons of the sport's integrity.

Today's MLB is going to have to start thinking about integrity issues, too, like:
--- Allowing deferred money (i.e., Ohtani) to be exempt from the luxury tax
--- Having no salary cap, which is why the $460 mil Dodgers swept the $70 mil Marlins earlier this week
--- Ownership that allows a team to remain noncompetitive year after year, a la Colorado
--- Allowing non-pitchers to turn late-inning blowouts into slow-pitch softball HR derbies, distorting stats
--- Continuing to embrace sports gambling partners while they keep Pete Rose banned from baseball

Negotiating the next CBA with the players union should be a doozy, and trying to get the umps to OK an automated strike zone might cause strikes or lockouts.

Enjoy today's games while we can.

Pink Freud wrote: ↑02 May 2025 21:57 pm Something today drew me to the familiar old story of dwarf Eddie Gaedel coming to bat for the St. Louis Browns, wearing the uniform of off-duty batboy Bill DeWitt Jr., with the number 1/8. Of course, with virtually no strike zone, Gaedel walked...and the next day was banned from baseball for reasons of the sport's integrity.

Today's MLB is going to have to start thinking about integrity issues, too, like:
--- Allowing deferred money (i.e., Ohtani) to be exempt from the luxury tax
--- Having no salary cap, which is why the $460 mil Dodgers swept the $70 mil Marlins earlier this week
--- Ownership that allows a team to remain noncompetitive year after year, a la Colorado
--- Allowing non-pitchers to turn late-inning blowouts into slow-pitch softball HR derbies, distorting stats
--- Continuing to embrace sports gambling partners while they keep Pete Rose banned from baseball

Negotiating the next CBA with the players union should be a doozy, and trying to get the umps to OK an automated strike zone might cause strikes or lockouts.

Enjoy today's games while we can.

Ozziesfan41 wrote: ↑02 May 2025 22:01 pm

Pink Freud wrote: ↑02 May 2025 21:57 pm Something today drew me to the familiar old story of dwarf Eddie Gaedel coming to bat for the St. Louis Browns, wearing the uniform of off-duty batboy Bill DeWitt Jr., with the number 1/8. Of course, with virtually no strike zone, Gaedel walked...and the next day was banned from baseball for reasons of the sport's integrity.

Today's MLB is going to have to start thinking about integrity issues, too, like:
--- Allowing deferred money (i.e., Ohtani) to be exempt from the luxury tax
--- Having no salary cap, which is why the $460 mil Dodgers swept the $70 mil Marlins earlier this week
--- Ownership that allows a team to remain noncompetitive year after year, a la Colorado
--- Allowing non-pitchers to turn late-inning blowouts into slow-pitch softball HR derbies, distorting stats
--- Continuing to embrace sports gambling partners while they keep Pete Rose banned from baseball

Negotiating the next CBA with the players union should be a doozy, and trying to get the umps to OK an automated strike zone might cause strikes or lockouts.

Enjoy today's games while we can.

Agree with all of it but the non pitchers pitching they have done that ever since I can remember. It’s also the funnest part of a blow out

Pink Freud wrote: ↑02 May 2025 21:57 pm Something today drew me to the familiar old story of dwarf Eddie Gaedel coming to bat for the St. Louis Browns, wearing the uniform of off-duty batboy Bill DeWitt Jr., with the number 1/8. Of course, with virtually no strike zone, Gaedel walked...and the next day was banned from baseball for reasons of the sport's integrity.

Today's MLB is going to have to start thinking about integrity issues, too, like:
--- Allowing deferred money (i.e., Ohtani) to be exempt from the luxury tax
--- Having no salary cap, which is why the $460 mil Dodgers swept the $70 mil Marlins earlier this week
--- Ownership that allows a team to remain noncompetitive year after year, a la Colorado
--- Allowing non-pitchers to turn late-inning blowouts into slow-pitch softball HR derbies, distorting stats
--- Continuing to embrace sports gambling partners while they keep Pete Rose banned from baseball

Negotiating the next CBA with the players union should be a doozy, and trying to get the umps to OK an automated strike zone might cause strikes or lockouts.

Enjoy today's games while we can.

Pink Freud wrote: ↑02 May 2025 21:57 pm Something today drew me to the familiar old story of dwarf Eddie Gaedel coming to bat for the St. Louis Browns, wearing the uniform of off-duty batboy Bill DeWitt Jr., with the number 1/8. Of course, with virtually no strike zone, Gaedel walked...and the next day was banned from baseball for reasons of the sport's integrity.

Today's MLB is going to have to start thinking about integrity issues, too, like:
--- Allowing deferred money (i.e., Ohtani) to be exempt from the luxury tax
--- Having no salary cap, which is why the $460 mil Dodgers swept the $70 mil Marlins earlier this week
--- Ownership that allows a team to remain noncompetitive year after year, a la Colorado
--- Allowing non-pitchers to turn late-inning blowouts into slow-pitch softball HR derbies, distorting stats
--- Continuing to embrace sports gambling partners while they keep Pete Rose banned from baseball

Negotiating the next CBA with the players union should be a doozy, and trying to get the umps to OK an automated strike zone might cause strikes or lockouts.

Enjoy today's games while we can.

Pink Freud wrote: ↑02 May 2025 21:57 pm Something today drew me to the familiar old story of dwarf Eddie Gaedel coming to bat for the St. Louis Browns, wearing the uniform of off-duty batboy Bill DeWitt Jr., with the number 1/8. Of course, with virtually no strike zone, Gaedel walked...and the next day was banned from baseball for reasons of the sport's integrity.

Today's MLB is going to have to start thinking about integrity issues, too, like:
--- Allowing deferred money (i.e., Ohtani) to be exempt from the luxury tax
--- Having no salary cap, which is why the $460 mil Dodgers swept the $70 mil Marlins earlier this week
--- Ownership that allows a team to remain noncompetitive year after year, a la Colorado
--- Allowing non-pitchers to turn late-inning blowouts into slow-pitch softball HR derbies, distorting stats
--- Continuing to embrace sports gambling partners while they keep Pete Rose banned from baseball

Negotiating the next CBA with the players union should be a doozy, and trying to get the umps to OK an automated strike zone might cause strikes or lockouts.

Enjoy today's games while we can.

cbcloud wrote: ↑03 May 2025 19:11 pm

Pink Freud wrote: ↑02 May 2025 21:57 pm Something today drew me to the familiar old story of dwarf Eddie Gaedel coming to bat for the St. Louis Browns, wearing the uniform of off-duty batboy Bill DeWitt Jr., with the number 1/8. Of course, with virtually no strike zone, Gaedel walked...and the next day was banned from baseball for reasons of the sport's integrity.

Today's MLB is going to have to start thinking about integrity issues, too, like:
--- Allowing deferred money (i.e., Ohtani) to be exempt from the luxury tax
--- Having no salary cap, which is why the $460 mil Dodgers swept the $70 mil Marlins earlier this week
--- Ownership that allows a team to remain noncompetitive year after year, a la Colorado
--- Allowing non-pitchers to turn late-inning blowouts into slow-pitch softball HR derbies, distorting stats
--- Continuing to embrace sports gambling partners while they keep Pete Rose banned from baseball

Negotiating the next CBA with the players union should be a doozy, and trying to get the umps to OK an automated strike zone might cause strikes or lockouts.

Enjoy today's games while we can.

...Sadly, the game as we knew it died a long time ago. Fans and writers may dispute when that started, but some date the start when the spitball was banned. Then came lowering the pitcher's mound, and a slew of other changes, such as clock timers on pitchers and batters, runners starting from 2B in extra innings, "automatic" base on balls (manager's 4-finger salute), all in an attempt to "speed up the game," and/or remain relevant. Proposed future changes include removing balls & strikes calls from the umpires and letting computers do it.

But the legal gambling intrusion on the games is the sleeper issue, and sooner or later a major betting scandal will be discovered. Every part of the game will come into question, and baseball will become about as legitimate as professional wrestling...